We’re just back from a dreamy week on the Greek island of Zakinthos aka Zante, vivid blue seas, shingle beaches, and delicious delicious food… the culinary highlights as always were the juicy tomatoes and feta cheese, tzatziki, kebabs, greek yogurt drizzled with honey on top of freshly cooked waffles, baklava and of course, Greek cheese pies.
I loved the fact that a lot of the food we ate was sourced from the island itself. Zakinthos is famed for its fertile soil, so you could really taste the flavours of the fruit, vegetables and meat more keenly.
As the sun is still shining here in London my holiday mood lives on, so I decided to have a go at making my favourite Greek dish at home – cheese pies!
I found a brilliantly simple version over on BBC Good Food so I’ll let you hop over there for the recipe, but I wanted to share the results with you here in case you were looking for a tasty vegetarian supper idea.
It’s very quick to prepare and you have the option of either cooking it straightaway for 30 mins or wrapping it up and freezing if you want to make it in advance of a busy week. It’d make a lovely light lunch if you’ve got veggie friends coming over.
You need to keep the filo pastry covered with a damp cloth while you’re preparing the pie or it’ll become tricky to handle, but other than that it was easy to make. I liked the fact that you used the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes to glaze the pastry sheets.
So was it a family thumbs up?
It scored 3 out of 4…
Arlo is a big fan of bold salty flavours so he loved the feta, spinach and sundried tomato filling, but while Sam loved the crispy filo pastry and the salad he wasn’t keen on the rest.
Matthew and I both devoured it, leaving one solitary slice for Matthew’s packed lunch the next day. The filo pastry gives a very light finish, the filling is bound together with beaten egg which gives the filling quite a meaty texture but intensely tasty finish. It doesn’t sit heavily in your stomach.
Would I make it again?
Now i’ve had a go using this recipe, I’m going to try making the pies in miniature so I can develop some different fillings that everyone will like. I’d also serve it up with some tzatziki for dunking.
Do you have a favourite holiday dish that you’ve been inspired to make at home? I’d love to hear about it!
I do love a bit of warm pie with feta. Yum!
It’s the business isn’t it!!!
Lamb tagine with apricots. Yummy.
Oooh yum! Bring on the autumn and some one pot cooking 🙂
I love anything to do with Greek food and filo is lovely and crisp and crunchy plus it’s great to store in the freezer. This weather is making me crave your idea of a cheesy spinach pie!
Thanks Laura! It is rather moreish and not that unhealthy really. Great to see you last week 🙂
Looks lovely – I’ve made a spinach and filo one before, pinenuts are good for crunch too. I really should make it again…thanks for reminding me!
My top tips for cooking this pie would be to do it in a large 2″ deep stainless steel (pre buttered) saute pan. Layer the filo and placed around in a clockwise or anti clock-wise direction all hanging over the sides, filling in then fold over all the over hanging leaves into the middle put whole thing in the oven. You get a nice deep pie with great shape. Use two plates to turn out.
I also love to make this with meat.. Try spicing up some lamb mince with ground coriander fresh chilli, ginger, small amount of mint and oregano. Layer it up.. And gobble it up. Also have layered in parboiled pots white sauce and aubergines and you have a picnic-portable moussaka! X
Great tips Nicola – thanks so much! Especially liking the portable moussaka idea 🙂